A Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On

So yesterday morning I looked out my window to see what my little explorer was up to, and this is what I saw:

And let me tell you, there was a whole lot of shaking going on!!!! A boy, a hose sprinkler wand for a mic, a sandbox lid turned upside down for a stage – Elvis never had it so good. But then again, no crowd could ever love their rock star as much as we love ours. But this begs the question, where does he come up with this stuff?

Kids love microphones. For children who are speech delayed or apraxic, a mic is something tangible they associate with speech. Plastic toy echo mics and the microphones that come with attached tape players are great when it comes to getting a resistant talker to make noise. It seems like the echo mics show up at the dollar store from time, but I think I bought ours at Target for a couple bucks. The tape player came from Goodwill for $2.99. An added bonus to the tape player is that the mic works even while a tape is going, so when Noah sings into it, it sounds to him like he’s the voice on tape.
toy tape player

Echo Mic

Microphone Moments:

Flash cards – allow your child the use of the mic when he is doing word flash cards. You say the word into the mic; he says the same word into the mic.

Songs – Sing the first few words of a familiar song into the mic. Then hand the mic to your child and let him finish the line. This works well for Old Macdonald when Mom sings, “Old MacDonald had a Farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm, he had a pig. E-I-E-I-O. With a —” Mom puts mic in front of Noah’s mouth and he sings, “Oink, oink.”

Vocalization and articulation practice – Using the sounds or words your child is working on, take turns vocalizing into the mic. You model the correct sound, your child imitates the sound into the mic.

The best activity of all is spontaneous activity, so leave your echo mic and tape recorder somewhere accessible. Your child is likely to pick it up and put it to use all in his own good time. And don’t forget to leave your sprinkler wand lying around – you never know what it will become in the hands of a child.

3 thoughts on “A Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On”

Yeah Buddy. My husband reluctantly agreed to let me post up to 50 photos of Noah on the blog – none of the other kiddos, just Noah. I think it can be lifesaving to put a face on Down syndrome and remind people of the blessings.

An extradorinary little boy, the ordinary people who love him, and their journey together through the world of visual learning and speech acquisition. (And in my "free time," vintage crochet, machine embroidery, digitizing and Etsy.)

Don't let the textbooks fool ya; little boys with Down syndrome are VERY clever!!!!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Ps 19:14)